5G spectrum auction: Jio top bidder with 24,740 MHz, Airtel 19,867 MHz

With India's first 5G spectrum auction coming to end after 7 days of rigorous bidding, billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Jio emerged the top bidder as it acquired 24,740 MHz spectrum worth Rs 88,078 crore, Telecom Minister Ashwini Vasihnaw announced on Monday. 

Sunil Mittal's Bharti Airtel came in as the second-highest bidder with 19,867 MHz spectrum in various bands worth Rs 43,084 crore.

Adani group acquired 400 MHz spectrum in 26 GHz band worth Rs 212 crore, while Vodafone Idea snapped up 2,668 MHz worth Rs 18,784 crore, the minister added.

Viashnaw added that bids worth Rs 1,50,173 crore for 71 per cent of total 5G spectrum bid out in this latest auction.

While Adani group bought spectrum in the 26 GHz band, which is not for public networks, Jio acquired spectrum across several bands, including the coveted 700 MHz band that can provide 6-10 km of signal range and forms a good base for fifth generation (5G) in all 22 circles in the country.

A single towner can cover more area if 700 Mhz is used.

On being the highest bidder, Akash Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Jio Infocomm said: “We have always believed that India will become a leading economic power in the world by adopting the power of breakthrough technologies. This was the vision and conviction that gave birth to Jio. The speed, scale and societal impact of Jio’s 4G rollout is unmatched anywhere in the world. Now, with a bigger ambition and stronger resolve, Jio is set to lead India’s march into the 5G era."

Moreover, Gopal Vittal, M.D & CEO, Bharti Airtel said, “Airtel is delighted with the results of the 5G auction. This spectrum acquisition at the latest auction has been a part of a deliberate strategy to buy the best spectrum assets at a substantially lower relative cost compared to our competition. This will allow us to raise the bar on innovation and address the emerging needs of every discerning customer who demands the best experience in India. We are confident that we will be able to deliver the best 5G experience in India in terms of coverage, speeds and latency."

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio, Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea and a unit of billionaire Gautam Adani's flagship Adani Enterprises were in the race to bid for the 5G spectrum, which offers speeds about 10 times faster than 4G, lag-free connectivity and can enable billions of connected devices to share data in real-time.

Besides powering ultra-low latency connections, which allow downloading full-length high-quality video or movie to a mobile device in a matter of seconds (even in crowded areas), the Fifth Generation or 5G would enable solutions such as e-health, connected vehicles, more-immersive augmented reality and metaverse experiences, life-saving use cases, and advanced mobile cloud gaming, among others.

In the auction conducted last year - that had lasted two days - Reliance Jio picked up spectrum worth Rs 57,122.65 crore, Bharti Airtel bid about Rs 18,699 crore, and Vodafone Idea bought spectrum worth Rs 1,993.40 crore.